Laptop Reliability Comparison

In my last article, I discussed a study on laptop failure rates published by Square Trade, an independent warranty provider that compared netbook reliability to laptops.

Included in the same report, was a breakdown of the reliability of laptops across all of the major brands. Here is a chart included in the report (click to expand).

Laptop Failure Rates By Brand

The study is based on over 30,000 laptops that were covered under warranties issued by Square Trade.

This reinforces some of my preconceptions that were formed based on my personal experience, and the experiences communicated to me by friends and associates.

I already had a perception that reliability of Asus and Toshiba laptops was better than everyone elses.

I already perceived Gateway’s laptops as being less reliable than most.

I also believed that Acer’s build quality was not as good as most in the past, but had improved over the past year or so.

On the other hand, I was a bit surprised by a few items:

I am surprised that Apple was not at the forefront of reliability beside Asus and Toshiba.

While I know of a number of HP owners who have had problems with their HP laptops, I did not think that HP had the the worst reliability.

Dell is in the middle of the pack. Based on personal experience, I expected them to be among the worst.

Keep in mind that the data here is not a random selection, so the results are not necessarily stastically accurate. Also, remember that the study was conducted by an organization that benefits by creating fear about the reliability of laptops. So, take all of this with a grain of salt.